Cadillacs & Tarantulas – Artwork

When I was coming up with the title concept, I knew that artwork would be a challenge. Inspired by how cool effects were pulled off with models in the Star Wars movies, I chose to use miniatures. I knew I would not have the opportunity to photograph a real tarantula, and I knew it would be hard to spot a Cadillac with a camera in my hand.

Here’s how it was done:

Using some toy tarantulas I bought at Klyde Peeling’s Reptile land (see my travel page), and a 1958 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz replica by Yat Ming from KayBee Toys (1:18 gauge) , I used my brother’s Fuji Finepix 2600 Zoom digital camera to capture the raw images. After a number of tries, I found that foam board (from Walmart) made the best backdrop and natural light was best at bringing out details. I used the highest resolution possible. The original images were then archived on my laptop for editing (my laptop has better resolution than my desktop PC).

As I went through the images using Paint Shop Pro, some lent themselves to being turned into lo-fi images like the ones used for the web site and CD cover, while others could be made into wild full-color graphics for the other promotional items and areas of the site. In all, I created over 300 images.

Using Word 2000, I came up with some basic templates and the rest was just trial and error until a functional design was achieved. The fonts are Algerian (title), Alaska Bold, and Arial (lyrics).

The decision to self-produce (instead of using a duplication house like Oasis) was purely a matter of logistics and finances. Oasis did a great job on my first CD, Mandala, but C&T was a much smaller project with a much smaller budget.

My decision to provide lyrics for Cadillacs & Tarantulas CD packaging was prompted by a sense that they deserved to be published, unlike the lyrics to MANDALA, which anyone could figure out. These songs are a little more open to interpretation, and I felt my lyric writing had improved.

Cadillacs
French explorer and colonial administrator who founded Detroit, Michigan (1701), and was governor of Louisiana (1711-1716).

A large pear, shaped like a flattened top, used chiefly for cooking. –Johnson.

Tarantulas are a family of spiders that can actually be divided into over 700 different species. They can be found in Central and South America, portions of the United States and parts of the Middle East. Tarantulas have hairy bodies from 1-4 inches in length, eight eyes and two fangs that curve downward. The hair on the spider’s body serves as a sensor of any slight movement and alerts it to any prey nearby. Tarantulas make their homes in burrows in the ground, tree holes and rotting logs. The web of a tarantula can be used to capture prey, but it is also used to hold and protect her eggs. Most smaller tarantulas eat insects while larger species can capture frogs, snakes, baby birds and small rodents.